Apparatus for producing rolls of upholsterer&#39;s felt of uniform length and weight



March 11, 1952 B l-OGAN 2,588,725

APPARATUS FOR PRODUC IN OLLS 0F UPI-IOLSTERERS FELT OF UNIFORM LENGTHAND WEIGHT Filed July 26, 1947 LHPPEE 15 14 JNVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 11, 1952 OFFICE APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ROLLS OFUPHOLSTERERS FELT OF UNI- FORM LENGTH AND WEIGHT Billie I. Hogan, LosAngeles, Calif., assignor t Edgar Anspacher, Los Angeles, Galif.

Application July 26, 1947, Serial No. 763,872

3 Claims. (01. 19-163) The present invention generally relates toapparatus and method for making rolls of upholsterers felt ofpredetermined length and uniform Weight per roll.

In the manufacture of upholsterers felt and similar materials, a Garnettor other suitable machine cards cotton and deposits linters on a"camelback lapper, which is generally a walking conveyor belt adapted tofeed the cotton linters transversely on a floor apron or conveyor beltmoving perpendicularly to the plane'of movement of the camelback lapper.The cotton linters deposited on the apron conveyor are depositedrectilinearly with respect to the motion thereof, thus causing thelinters to be deposited on the apron in overlapping folds. The apronthen feeds the sheet of folded cotton linters to pressure rollers whichform the material into a batt of upholsterers felt, the batt thenpassing through severing rollers and to a batt folder adapted to foldthe batt into a folded pile of upholsterers felt or to a spindle uponwhich the felt may be rolled. The severing rollers are adapted to beactuated by the apparatus of the present invention after a predeterminedlength of the batt of upholsterers felt has passed said severing rollersfor severing same into predetermined lengths.

Various types of severing means adapted for use with moving conveyorbelts or the like and adapted to sever material moved by said conveyorbelts into predetermined lengths have been disclosed in the prior art.However, such constructions have generally been relatively complex andare not correlated with the balance of the apparatus so that a batt ofupholsterers felt of predetermined weight and length may be producedthereby. In other words, such prior art devices merely producepredetermined lengths of material, irrespective of the weight thereof.

The apparatus of the present invention has the ad antage of being ableto produce a length or roll of upholsterers felt of a desiredpredetermined length and a desired predetermined weight. This isaccomplished by varying the speed of movement of the floor apron ormoving conveyor belt through variable gearing or the like, while feedingthe cotton linters thereto from the Garnett machine and camelback lapperat a constant rate, thus varying the thickness of the material depositedthereon and subsequently compressed by the pressure rollers into a battof upholsterer felt.

It should be noted that irrespective of the rate of feed of the movingconveyor belt or floor apron, in other words, irrespective of the weightof the upholsterers felt to be produced, the severing actuating meanswill actuate the severing rollers after each predetermined length ofmaterial. This is not true of prior art constructions.

Generally speaking, the apparatus of the present invention comprisedriven means for aavancing a sheet of linters which has been depositedthereon at an adjustable rate per unit area of the driven means,severing means positioned adjacent the sheet of linters and adapted tosever same upon actuation thereof, and timing means correlated to themovement of the driven means advancing the sheet of linters and adaptedto cause the actuation of said severing means after a predeterminedlength of the sheet moved by said driven means has passed said severingmeans for severing said material into said predetermined lengths and ofa predetermined weight determined by said rate of deposit. Generallyspeaking, the method of the present invention comprises the steps ofdepositing a film of linters on an apron moving toward a dischargepoint, adjusting the effective rate. of deposit of the linters per unitarea of the apron to form a deposit of felted linters of a desiredweight per unit length by varying and controlling the rate of travel ofthe apron and severing oh the felted linters into uniform, predeterminedlengths correlated to the length of the apron.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of this invention toprovide a new and novel apparatus and v method for producing rolls ofupholsterers felt of uniform, predetermined length and weight per roll.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and novelapparatus of exceedingly simple, cheap construction adapted to producepredetermined, uniform lengths of upholsterers felt, irrespective of theweight of the felt produced.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and novelsevering control correlated to the speed at which the material is fedtoward the discharge point for severing the material into predeterminedlengths.

Other and allied objects will become apparent to those skilled in theart upon a careful examination of the illustrations, specification, andappended claims. To facilitate understanding, reference will be had tothe following drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of an illustrative form of theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, diagrammatic view of thesevering-actuating mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, a Garnett or cotton carding machine I, of a typewell known in the art, is adapted to receive cotton (such as the usualbales of uncarded cotton), and to card and deposit same in the form ofcotton linters on the moving conveyor belt 2 of a camelback back lapper3 comprises an endless, continuous conveyor belt 2 which is pivotallymounted at 4 adjacent the Garnett or cotton carding machine I. Thecentral portion of the camelback lapper is mounted for verticalreciprocation and relative pivotal movement at 5, broken away,vertically extending arms 6 being adapted. to vertically move thecentral point of the camelback lapper at 5. Means for verticallyreciprocating the arms 6 (which are best shown in Fig. 2) are providedbut are not shown,.since they are well known in the art. The vertical,reciprocatory movement of the arms and the central portion of thecamelback lapper takes place regularly during the operation of themachine;

The outer end of the camelback lapper is mounted at- 1 by means ofrollers for rectilinear movement back and forth on tracks 8 mountedtransversely across a frame 9 containing a floor apronor moving conveyorbelt 10 which moves transversely to the direction of movement of thecamelba'ck lapper" on the tracks 8. In other words; the moving conveyorbelt II! moves towardthe'left, as viewed in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, while thecamelback lapper moves up and down; in a reciprocatory movement, asviewed in Fi I.

motor or the like, best shown in Fig. 1 is adapted to drive a reductiongearing 35 through a chain or other suitable driving means 36 and isalso adapted to drive the inner, continuously driven portion of theone-revolution clutch by means of a belt 31 and shaft 38. The reductiongearing 35, which may be a variable ratio gearing. drives, through achain 45, the end of the shaft I2 upon whichthe main conveyor belt ismounted. A chain 39 connected to sprockets on the shaft I2 drives thepressure rollers 16. A chain 40 mounted on a sprocket on the end of theshaft of one of the pressure rollers it also drives the lower stationarysevering roller I8.

The operation. of the device may be described as follows. Cotton is fedtothe Garnett or carding machine I, which. deposits linters on the upperportion of the conveyor belt of the camelback lapper 3, which is movingin a downward direction, as viewed in Fig. l, or, in other words,toward. the moving conveyor belt l8. Atv the same time, the centralportion of the camelback lapper, indicated at 5, is being regu-Themoving conveyor belt l8 positioned in the frame 9 is of the endlesstype and is mounted upon rolls H on shafts l2. Also mounted on theshafts l2 are sprockets 13 having mounted thereon and engaged therewitha common sprocket chain I4; The chain l4 carries a clutchactuating lugl5. a

Vertically spaced pressure rollers l6 are mounted on an upwardlyextending portion ll of the frame adjacent the discharge end of belt ID.A stationary severing roller 48 is mounted in the bottom portion of anupwardly extending, vertically slotted portion is connected to theframe. A vertically movable freely rotatable, severing roller 20 ismountedfor vertical reciprolarly,,,vertically reciprocated by means ofarms 6, shown broken away in Fig. 2, and mechanism, not shown. Thiscauses the outer free end of the conveyor belt 2 on the camelbacklapper, which is being regularly, transversely moved back and forth onthe tracks 8, to deposit the sheet, film, or web of cotton linters at aconstant rate on the conveyor belt Ill, which is moving toward the left,as viewed in Fig. 1. This causes the web of cotton linters to bedeposited in overlapping relation, as indicated at 4|.

livers cotton linters on the moving conveyor belt cation in the upperportion of the slot in the extension l9 connected to the frame and iscarried by a shaft 2| connected to a pivotal arm 22 which is mountedon ashaft 23 pivotally mounted between opposite sides of the frame. Theouter free end of the lower arm 22, as viewed in Fig. 1, is pivotallyconnected to connectin 'rod' 24, best shown in Fig. 2, whichiseccentrically connected to a standard, one-revolution clutch. indicatedgenerally at 25, arranged to be engaged for one revolution when adog 26-is pivoted in Ill at a uniform rate, the thickness or weight of the webor film of cotton linters on the moving conveyor belt or floor apron [0-may be varied to any desired weight. The web of material then passesthrough and between the pressure rollers 16, which compact them into afelted batt of upholsterers felt, which is then fed over the lower,stationary, rotating severing roller l8. At

the same time that the batt of felted material a counterclockwisedirection'about pivot point 21, as viewed in Fig. 2, by moving linkage28 toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 2. This. is caused whenever theclutch-actuating lug 15 on' the sprocket chain l4, driven by thesprocket l3 hits the end 29 on the linkage 28, thus engaging" the:one-revolution clutch 2-5 and -moving through rod 24 and lever arm 22the upper severing roller 20"downwardlyinto engagement with the lowerstationary severing roller i8. I

The linkage 28 extends through a perforate supporting element 30 and asecond similarsupporting element 3| spaced therefrom, both of whichare'mounted on the frame. One end of a coil compression spring" 32 isadapted to abut the stationary supporting element 30 and the otherendthereof is adapted to abut a fixed collar 33 on the linkage 28, thus lordinarily spring biasing the linkage 28 and the dog 2 6 into aclutch-disengaging position when not in-engagement' under the influenceof lug l5.

Suitable driving means 34, such as an electric the apparatus, the chainl4 on the sprockets I3 is being correlatedly moved and theclutch-actuating lug l5 thereon ultimately engages the trip handle 29 onthe linkage 28, moving same toward the left against the action of coilcompression. spring 32, thus releasing the dog 26 from contact of theone-revolution clutch 25 which becomes engageably operable for onerevolution. This causes the connecting rod 24 to pivot the arm 22 aboutthe pivot point 23, moving the severing roller 20 downwardly through thebatt of material into momentary contact with the virtually stationarybut rotatable roller 18, thereby severing the batt of material as by asqueezing and tearing action. It should be noted that upholsterers felteven when compressed, is very loose and fluffy. Because of this loosecondition of the compressed upholsterers felt, it may be readily severedor torn without diificulty.

It should be noted that this severing operation will take place aftereach predetermined length of material has passed said severing rollers,since it is synchronized with the rate at which the material is fed tothe severing rollers. The weight of the batt of material may be variedat will, as hereinbefore stated, by varying the rate of deposit oflinters per unit area on the moving floor apron or conveyor belt It orby varying the speed of movement of either the camelback lapper 3 or thefloor apron l0. However, it should be noted that in either of the casesjust enumerated, the material will still be severed into predeterminedlengths, irrespective of the rate of movement of the floor apron II) orthe camelback lapper 3.

Numerous modifications and variations of this idea may be utilized whichare within the spirit and scope of this invention and are intended to beincluded and comprehended herein. For example, the structure of theGarnett or carding machine, camelback lapper, floor apron, pressurerollers, severing means, and various other limitations of structure maybe altered within wide limits. The apparatus of the present invention isnot limited to the making of upholsterers felt, but may be applied tothe severing of predetermined lengths and predetermined weights orthicknesses of any material which is deposited upon a second means formoving the material toward a discharge point. This invention is notlimited to a sprocket-driven chain and clutch-actuating lug, but anymeans driven at a speed correlated to the rate of deposit of thematerial per unit area of the conveyor belt or means for moving thesheet of material, and adapted to cause the severing of the material maybe used. The one-revolution clutch is of a type well known in the art.However, any other similar clutch means may be utilizede also any otherclutch spring biasing means may be used. If desired, the clutch meansmay be dispensed with entirely and power means energized at the time ofactuation of the severing rolls, if desired.

It should be noted that the examples illustrated and described hereinare exemplary only and are not intended to limit the scope of thisinvention, which is to be interpreted in the light of the appendedclaims only.

I claim:

1. In a machine for making an upholsterers felt, the combination of: anendless forming conveyor for-receiving a deposit of a web of linters tobe loosely compressed into a continuous sheet of felt; a conveyorsupporting shaft at each end of said conveyor; driving means operablyconnected to one of said shafts for moving said conveyor: means forsevering said continuous sheet of felt into selected lengths whileadvancing, said means including a driven rotatable transversely disposedroller held against vertical movement and disposed on one side of theadvancing sheet of felt; a freely rotatable roller disposed on theopposite side of said sheet of felt; an actuating means for saidsevering means, said actuating means including a pivoted lever providedwith a slot intermediate its ends for connection to said verticallymovable roller, a single revolution clutch means operably connected tosaid lever for providing positive movement of said vertically movableroller toward and through said sheet of felt and into contact with saiddriven roller, an endless timing chain coextensive with said formingconveyor for corresponding movement therewith and carried by saidshafts, an actuatingv lug carried by said chain, and a spring-biasedclutch actuating member operably connected toisaid clutch means andextending into proximity with one end of said chain for periodic contactwith said lug for actuating said severing means.

2. In a machine for making upholsterers felt, the combination of: anendless forming conveyor for receiving deposit of a web of linters to beloosely compressed into a continuous sheet of felt; a supporting shaftat each end of said conveyor; driving means operably connected to one ofsaid shafts for moving said conveyor; means for severing said continuoussheet of felt into selected lengths while advancing, said meansincluding a driven rotatable transversely disposed roller held againstvertical movement and disposed at one side of the advancing sheet offelt; a vertically movable roller disposed at the opposite side of saidsheet of felt for movement into and through said sheet and into positivecontact with said driven roller, actuating means for said severingmeans, said actuating means including a pivoted lever connectedintermediate its ends to said vertically movable roller, a singlerevolution clutch means operably connected to said lever; an endlesstiming chain coextensive with said conveyor for corresponding movementwith said belt and carried by said shafts, an actuating lug carried bysaid chain, and a clutch actuating member operably connected to saidclutch means and extending into proximity with said chain for periodiccontact with said actuating lug.

3. In a machine for making upholsterers felt, the combination of anendless forming conveyor for receiving deposit of a web of linters to beloosely compressed into a continuous sheet of felt; a supporting shaftat each end of said conveyor; driving means operably connected to one ofsaid shafts for moving said conveyor; means for severing said continuoussheet of felt into selected lengths while advancing, said meansincluding a driven rotatable transversely disposed roller held againstvertical movement and disposed at one side of the advancing sheet offelt; a vertically movable roller disposed at the opposite side of saidsheet of felt for movement into and through said sheet and into positivecontact with said driven roller, an actuating means for said severingmeans, said actuating means comprising a lever pivoted at one end andprovided with a slot intermediate its ends for connection to saidvertically movable roller. 21. single revolution clutch means connectedto the other end of said lever and operable to move said verticallymovable roller into contact with said driven roller; a timing chaincoextensive with said forming conveyor for movement with said conveyorat the same rate of speed, sprockets cooperable with said chain andcarried by said shafts, an actuating lug carried by said chain, and aclutch actuating member operably connected to said clutch means andextending into proximity with said chain for contact with said lug.

BILLIE I. HOGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,710,978 Herbener Apr. 30, 19292,161,831 Manning June 13, 1939 2,291,651 Robinson Aug; 4, 1942

